The consciousness of being deemed dead, is next to the presumable unpleasantness of being so in reality. One feels like his own ghost unlawfully tenanting a defunct carcass. – Herman Melville
Friendship at first sight, like love at first sight, is said to be the only truth. – Herman Melville
Hope is the struggle of the soul, breaking loose from what is perishable, and attesting her eternity. – Herman Melville
You cannot spill a drop of American blood without spilling the blood of the whole world…. We are not a nation, so much as a world. – Herman Melville
Once one determines that he or she has a mission in life, thats its not going to be accomplished without a great deal of pain, and that the rewards in the end may not outweigh the pain –if you recognize historically that always happens, then when it comes, you survive it. – Richard Milhous Nixon